The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1887-12-01
For THE PROGRESSIVE FARMER.
THE MANURIAL PROPERTIES
OF COTTON SEED.
WALTER, N. c., Nov. IA, 'S7.

WALTER, N. c., Nov. IA, 's7.
In what does the manurial value of
cotton seed consist, is a perplexing
question to the average farmer.
Cotton-seed- -oil-mill men tell us there
is no manurial value in the oil. Is this
so? From what source is the oil sup
plied-from the earth or the air ? If
from the earth, it must be essential to
! plant growth, and if essential and we
extract it from the seed and do not
return it to the soil, is there danger
after awhile of exhausting this oil
supply? No oil no seed, no seed no
plant, no plant no cotton. We would
like to see an analysis of the whole
cotton plant, in The PROGRESSIVE
FARMER, with the meal and the seed
separate.
With many good wishes, yours truly,
j. H. CALDWELL
We handed the above to DR.. II. B.
Battle, Acting Director of our Expert
ment Station, and the following is his
reply:
RALEIGH, NOV. Il, 1881.
In answer to the above letter from
Mr.. Caldwell, [ think the following
points would cover the questions
asked
l. What is the composition of cot
ton seed ?
2. What is the composition and
whence comes the ingredients of the
oil extracted, and is it valuable as
fertilizer?
3. Wherein lies the fertilizing prop
critics of cotton seed
4. Can a farmer advantageously ex-
change cotton seed for cotton seed,
meal if so, in what proportion can he
do so with profit to himself ?
AS the subject is such an important
one, and should receive more attention
than is now paid to it, [ will write
more at length than I otherwise would
do.
l. What IS the composition of the
seed !?
Answer. In 100 lbs cotton seed
there are on an average almost exactly
so lbs. hulls, and so lbs. kernels or
in other words, in cotton seed one-half
is hulls and one-half is kernels. From
the SO lbs. kernels, SO lbs. ION an
average) of oil are extracted, leaving
l6 lbs. cake, which when ground fur
nishes the meal. So in every 100 lbs.
seed sold there are l6 lbs. meal
2. What as the composition, aOhence
comes the ingredients Of the oil extracted,
and is 1t valua5ze as a FERTILIZER
Answer. Cotton seed oil is COM
posed of the chemical elements, car
bon, hydrogen and oxygen combined
together in very complicated ar
rangement. A different arrangement
of these same elements would form
ordinary sugar, piece Of cotton cloth
or a drink of whiskey. The water we
drink is made of the last two, hydro
gen and oxygen, and the carbon is
found in large quantities combined in
different ways in:both the atmosphere.
aid the soil In fact all three of
these elements are found in abundance
both above and below the surface of
the ground.
The cotton plant has the power in
its growth of taking up these elements
through the pores of it's leaves from
the air and through each little rootlet
from the soil, and of rearranging them
to form the fiber of the stalk and the
oil of the seed.
The carbon comes almost entirely
from the air. and the hydrogen and
oxygen (mainly in the form of water)
from both air and soil, and conse-
quently neither one can be said to
have any fertilizing property either
alone or combined to form the oil.
3. Wherein hes the tertllizimg prop
ertaes Of the cotton seed 2
Answer. The meal is by far the
most valuable portion of the seed and
contains more fertilizlng ingredients
than in all the other portions put to-
gether. It is the valuable (agrlcul-
turally) concentrated portion of the
seed from which all the comparative
y valueless parts have been separated.
1t contains more fertilizing properties
than the best commercial ammoniated
fertilizer. but as thew are not combined